Kate Rosenthal was 2-0 with wins at third doubles and fourth singles in Bates' 8-1 women's tennis victory over Colby on March 18, 2015. (File photo by Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)
LEWISTON, Maine -- The Bates women's tennis team lost only three games in doubles play en route to an 8-1 defeat of Colby College in the Bobcats' NESCAC opener Wednesday evening in Merrill Gymnasium.
Bates (4-3, 1-0 NESCAC), ranked No. 40 in Division III, won its third straight match. The Bobcats are out of action until Saturday, March 28 at home against Brandeis.
Bates' No. 1 doubles team of senior Elena Mandzhukova (Lisbon, Portugal) and sophomore Elizabeth Erbafina (Sudbury, Mass.) shut out Colby's Erica Talamo and Maddie Lupone 8-0. First-year Maisie Silverman (Brunswick, Maine) and sophomore Kelsey Pearson (Orange, Calif.) won 8-2 at No. 2 doubles, while sophomore Kate Rosenthal (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and junior Emma Blakeley (Hope, Maine) rolled to an 8-1 decision at No. 3 doubles.
The Bobcats allowed the Mules only nine games total in singles play at the first, second, third, fourth and sixth positions combined. Mandzhukova, Erbafina, Silverman and Rosenthal all won handily, as did first-year Jessica Seibold (Cincinnati, Ohio), who scored a 6-2, 6-2 victory at No. 6 singles over Colby's Olivia Stein.
Colby (3-4, 0-2) earned its point at No. 5 singles, where Katie Ryan defeated senior captain Alexandra Hakusui (Boxford, Mass.) in a third-set tiebreaker, 2-6, 6-1, 10-8.
Bates 8, Colby 1
March 18, 2015 at Lewiston, Maine (Merrill Gym)
Doubles
1. Elena Mandzhukova/Elizabeth Erbafina (B) def. Erica Talamo/Maddie Lupone (C) 8-0
2. Maisie Silverman/Kelsey Pearson (B) def. Holly Bogo/Danielle Levine (C) 8-2
3. Kate Rosenthal/Emma Blakeley (B) def. Katie Ryan/Annie Morris (C) 8-1
Singles
1. Elena Mandzhukova (B) def. Talamo (C) 6-0, 6-2
2. Elizabeth Erbafina (B) def. Lupone (C) 6-1, 6-1
3. Maisie Silverman (B) def. Bogo (C) 6-1, 6-0
4. Kate Rosenthal (B) def. Levine (C) 6-0, 6-0
5. Ryan (C) def. Alexandra Hakusui (B) 2-6, 6-1, 10-8
6. Jess Seibold (B) def. Olivia Stein (C) 6-2, 6-2
